Good to see some progress on the project.
You found more rust than you expected. How do you go about fixing this?? It's part of the chassis, isn't it?

Can't wait for the next installment.

 

I'm hoping to be able to source the inner fender pontoon area from a parts car. If that falls through, I'll have a local panel beater make up a set for me. If I were to do it myself it would take a LONG time as I don't have a brake, bead roller, English wheel or other needed tools. Or I could make the part by welding about a million smaller pieces together which would also be time consuming.

As for the rest of it, it's all fairly simple single-contour or flat, so it's just a matter of cutting out the bad and welding in new. Thankfully, aside from a few spots in the rear, that is about the extent of the rust repair needed. After a very thorough inspection, the rest of the car is solid.

 

to parted out two cosmos years ago and never crossed my mind that anyone would
ever need those parts

 

I didn't even think of it till you were talking about the sand blast media not being able to take of that thick gunk..... theres a place here in st thomas that does dry ice blasting, you could have got everything done for a couple hundred bucks. I worked there a few years ago, it would have peeled all that gunk off. they do everything from horse stalls to cleaning weld spatter off robots
HAHAHA maybe for next time

 

I have a few contacts with parts cars that I'll probably be able to get the inner fenders out of. Oddly, Atkins wasn't interested even though they have 2 parts cars, told me in an email that "Anything you need, just ask" and I was willing to pay them shop labor for removal plus give them sponsorship of 3 videos. They have their reasons I guess. Worst case is that I will have a local panel beater recreate them.

Didn't even think of dry ice blasting. I've seen it done to remove mold from houses that were used as grow operations. Works quite well. Something to keep in mind for next time (yeah, right...next time...) if they have a mobile rig. Meh, elbow grease and kerosene does the job and is easy, though boring, work.

 

Episode 17 of my '76 Mazda RX-5 Cosmo restoration moves from the destruction of the last episode to construction as I focus mainly on one task: repairing the floor in the rear passenger seat area. This was some of the surprise damage I found while sand blasting way back in part 6. I've been neglecting the floor for more interesting tasks and because rust is depressing but after uncovering far more tin-worm damage in part 16, I decided it was time to do a little more sheet metal work. This turned out to take longer than I thought and was a rather tedious area to work in. Included in this episode: cutting out rusty sheet metal, cleaning up rust, prepping the areas for repair, fabricating patch panels, media blasting, hand forming patch panels, welding in new metal patch panels, recreating factory beads without a bead roller, corpse removal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zm8zur_iWJY

 

It's never too soon for an Amy Winehouse joke.

Are you going to convert the rear windows to power like the fronts? I noticed they still have the hand cranks.

 

I'm likely going to leave them manual. Why? Just because it's weird.

 

Passengers are getting a free ride anyway, so let them crank their own windows. Awesome work man.

 

Aaron,

You know I really respect your commitment to this project, your knowledge and skills.

So why diminish yourself with the Amy Winehouse cracks. I know they're meant in edgy humour and there's no underlying misogyny. She was somebody's daughter and despite the manner of her demise she never hurt anyone and maybe bought some hope to the world. You know even comedians have taboo subjects, unless of course you're Andrew Dice Clay.

I wasn't going to say anything, but you know I'd knew you'd take it in the right way and too often we're too polite to take a stand.


Jim

 

Jim, there were New York City comedians making jokes about 9/11 the week it happened during shows, and that was far more tragic. Jokes are simply a way to make light of the hard bits of life. Neither she or her family were hurt by Aaron's joke. There is never any subject that is off limits. Some people choose not to go there, but others will. It's entirely subjective, just like music... and mullets :P

 

I hear you and I'm not preaching nor was I particularly offended. I don't personally know Amy or even follow her music. I just think Aaron is better than that. Above that. I agree humour is a wonderful way to humanize tragedy but some topics do transcend personal subjectiveness. Why are there no jokes about the Holocaust, the Rwanda genocide or the current Somali famine?

 

Amy Winehouse died doing what she loved.
I remember the good old days when you could joke about anything and nobody cared

 

SRT4 style, lol.

QFT

 

I see what you're saying, and figured someone might comment. But celebrities like Amy Winehouse give up the niceties of being human when they reach that status. It's part of the trade. The question of whether she hurt someone is an interesting one though when considering that the mere act of supporting a drug dealer harms thousands.

 

There are Holocaust jokes. I won't share them, but I've heard a few.

 

"she never hurt anyone" google amy winehouse attacks lol
she punch a fan and attack the paparrazzi are 2 i found

 

Paparazzi aren't people either.

 

Awesome car Aaron. Hopefully someday we can have a SWclassic rotary meet.
I have a 67 Austin 1100 that is gettitng a FD subframe/powerplant swap, and I know it'll take forever.
Reading this thread gives me a mental push.
Great work!

 

I like the idea of a vintage rotary meet. Nothing newer than 1980.

 

It's time finally for part 18 of my Mazda RX-5 Cosmo restoration. In episode 19 I continue repairing the rear floor pan, this time dealing with the drivers rear seat area as well as some of the bulkhead and frame below it. Once tired of messing about with floor pans, I move onto some easy sheet metal work involving filling some of the unnecessary holes in the firewall. Included in this episode: cutting out rusty sheet metal, cleaning up rust, prepping the areas for repair, fabricating patch panels, hand forming patch panels, welding in new metal patch panels, smoothing a firewall, fixing sheet metal weld distortion, a tornado.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYNJQm8gIUg

 

maybe just find little side projects with stuff for the car to stick in and break it up. i still watch them either way

 

Good thing you love grinding and videography so much, right? Just post the more challenging and not-so-straightforward sheetmetal work for now. I can imagine it must be frustrating and slow to keep repositioning the camera constantly while you work. (I bet the editing process isn't exactly gravy, either.) If only there were a young insecure girl out there willing to help with all that slow grinding and camera work.... Keep it up man, we're looking forward to seeing the car at a show one of these days, Ben Wood

 

Posting the more interesting sheetmetal work probably makes sense, both to conserve your time filming it and editing it, but some video mention of the areas you hit would be good, as a way of showing the kind of problems to look for/fix on an older resto like this.

 

A simple before and after shot of each repair would be nice, but why waste time your time messing with the camera throughout each one? By now anyone that is interested in watching your restomod videos has seen all the steps, so save the camera time for the neat stuff. I can't wait to see this thing rolling around town.